OrCam has a few assistive device alternatives with a variety of costs and payment plans starting at $75 per month. Depending on where the intended user resides and the specifics of their circumstances, payment plans with more than a 90%, as well as financial aid, are available.
Is OrCam worth the money?
“It covers a huge market gap for a wide spectrum of people, and it’s such a brilliant and portable design.” It’s difficult to find flaws with this OrCam product, and it can help with independence in a variety of areas.
This product, I believe, has the potential to significantly aid my personal independence. Simple tasks like as going to the store and filling up on necessities, which most people certainly don’t think about, would be made easier. Not only that, but I’m confident that this product will benefit others.” Tears of Chloe
OrCam Read is also faster, crisper, and more handy than free mobile reading apps, according to Chloe.
Overall, she thinks it’s a good investment.
“While this may appear to be a steep amount to pay for a device with a somewhat poor appearance, consider the inside technology it provides to users, particularly those with impaired vision.”
Although a Read Text software that can capture and read back text content can be downloaded from the Play Store, OrCam Read can do far more for individuals who could benefit from its features.”
It’s the perfect complement to magnification, according to Sam Seavey (The Blind Life), and it’s the closest to perfection of all the OCR devices he’s tried.
“I’m having a lot of fun with this little item here.”
Guys, I’m just blown away.
OrCam has always impressed me, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they have the greatest OCR in the game right now.
It’s quick, dependable, and precise, and it doesn’t require an internet connection…
I can just have this, pull it out of my pocket or hang it on the lanyard around my neck, click, scan, and I’m listening to it in a matter of seconds.
I obtain the knowledge, and then I can go about my business.” The Blind Life, Sam Seavey
If you’d want to watch the product in action, here’s Sam’s entire video review:
In addition, the device has attracted international interest.
Here’s a quick clip from an Australian morning show where a tech reviewer discusses the OrCam Read:
How much does OrCam MyEye cost?
We took a first look at the OrCam from Israeli-based OrCam Technologies in a recent AccessWorld piece, Choice Finds from the ATIA 2016 Conference Exhibit Hall. The OrCam is a wearable device that detects what you’re looking at, recognizes text, and reads it aloud. The OrCam can also recognize a variety of objects, as well as US cash, credit cards, and even people’s faces.
While many people with visual impairments utilize smartphones and other mobile devices to complete the majority of these chores, there is a rising community of newly blind persons for whom such a device could provide a substantial step toward personal independence. This device may be especially useful for people who are newly blind and lack significant technical experience and training.
OrCam was not yet available for purchase at the time of the preceding AccessWorld mention. It is currently accessible with training through a dealer network. In a recent training session, I had the opportunity to put the device through its paces. Here’s what I discovered.
A quick Tour of OrCam
The OrCam is made up of two parts. The processor unit, which measures 5.5 inches by 2.25 inches by.8 inches and weighs little over 5.5 ounces, is the first. It is meant to fit into a standard-size hip pocket and fits easily in the palm of the hand. A belt clip is also included, however utilizing it with a handbag may be difficult. Because the CPU unit and the OrCam are connected by a 32-inch cable, a shoulder bag or backpack worn on the right shoulder might work. Hopefully, the manufacturer will be able to offer Bluetooth or other wireless communication options in the near future.
The processing unit contains an audio connector, a charging port, and three buttons: a Power button and a Volume Up/Down rocker on one edge, and a Trigger button on the opposite edge, which the user can push to start a scan or hold for two seconds with either of the Volume buttons to enter the Settings menu. However, as you’ll discover shortly, you may use the physical Trigger button to access the majority of OrCam’s functionality.
The camera/speaker head unit, which is attached to the other end of the cable, is the second component. This part attaches to the right arm of practically every pair of standard-size eyeglasses or sunglasses. (Wire frame glasses are currently not compatible with the OrCam.) The OrCam 8-megapixel camera is positioned at the very front of the glasses when correctly fastened, and the speaker is positioned toward the back. The head unit is light and comfortable to wear, weighing slightly over 1 ounce. Bone conduction earbuds were employed in some prerelease versions of OrCam Eye, but these have been replaced in the release version by a single speaker with sound output oriented toward the user’s right ear. Those with hearing loss in this ear may have difficulty using OrCam right out of the box. The audio jack on the processing unit may be used by such users to attach their own headphones, external speaker, or hearing aid.
The non-swappable battery has a 4.5-hour continuous usage rating. A USB power converter, computer port, or car charger can recharge it in four hours. The battery was at 100% at the start of my two-hour training session. It came to a 50 percent conclusion, so these figures appear to be reasonable at first glance.
The Two Flavors of OrCam
OrCam is available in two versions: $3,500 for the OrCam MyEye and $2,500 for the OrCam MyReader. Let’s go over each of these configurations and see what they can and can’t achieve. It’s important to remember that, as with other camera-based accessibility devices and apps, there’s a learning curve. Because I only had one training session, I sought advice from an OrCam veteran, which you can read about later in this article.
OrCam MyReader is a text recognition program. There are two ways to tell the device to recognize text and pronounce it. First, take a close look at the page or text label. This can be a little difficult at first. I had a habit of looking up and to the right of my intended aim. I quickly improved my aim with practice. Press the Trigger button on the processor unit with the target text directly ahead of you. As the image is captured, you will hear a shutter sound. The text will start speaking in a second or two.
Place your finger towards the top center of the page or block of text you want to be read. Place your finger in such a way that the fingernail is facing up. OrCam detects the fingernail and utilizes it to focus the camera. Remove your finger from the text after hearing a confirmation beep. OrCam will auto-snap the photo as a result of this activity. Remove your finger from view and try again if you don’t hear a chirp.
OrCam’s creators created their own proprietary text recognition engine from the ground up. I found the recognition to be on par with, if not better than, that of other OCR solutions, such as the KNFB Reader. If the writing is upside down or too fuzzy to recognize, OrCam prompts you, and it appears to do an excellent job cleaning up off-center photos. It’s also speedy, and there’s no requirement for a data connection. You will, however, require appropriate lighting. OrCam had a tendency to fail in low-light situations, and there was no means of knowing if the failure was due to text not being included in the view or poor lighting. This resulted in a few cases where I kept trying to get the text to show up when the real issue was bad lighting. Perhaps a note about poor lighting should be included.
The text is recited in one of three voices: Ivona, Brian, or Kendra. Even with the little built-in speaker, I found the results to be clear and easy to interpret. The Settings section allows you to modify the voices, speed, and loudness.
Simply place your hand in front of the object you’re reading to stop reading text. To scan the text, place your finger against the text and slide it down toward where you want to skip to when the speech starts. This was a little challenging, and my attempts resulted in a lot of recognition pauses and restarts. I was able to perform the motion in approximately half the time after some practice. I’m sure I could refine this gesture even more with more practice, but I’m not sure it’s a feature I’d use enough to justify the work.
I was able to scan the left and right pages of a book with high speed and accuracy using OrCam. After your recognized text has been read, OrCam does not preserve it. You can’t go ahead in a book while listening to earlier pages, and you can’t save the scanned text to a computer or other device. When I pointed OrCam at my computer screen, it determined that I was working on an Excel spreadsheet and began reading the data one row at a time.
When I took OrCam to my cupboard, I could touch a can of corned beef hash or a box of crackers with my finger, and OrCam would pronounce the most apparent text. This language was usually cooking directions or nutritional information, and I could usually figure out what was in the package from it. Because product names are generally printed in strange fonts that OrCam doesn’t recognize, they were a difficulty. There is a way to identify products more reliably, which I will detail in the next section. It was time to get on the road for the time being.
When I went outside for my training session, I was surprised to see that, despite having lived in my current house for eight years, I had never noticed the street number printed on top of my garage door. The UPS man arrived with two Amazon shipments as the instructor and I were leaving. By merely touching the label with my fingertips and then pulling my finger away for the photo to shoot, I was able to discern that one of the boxes was for me and the other was for my wife. It took me a long to find the label on one of the packages because it looked so much like packing tape. When OrCam did not chirp, I realized I had to pull my finger away and try again, assuming the daylight was sufficient.
Corner street signs could also be read, although I don’t think this is a particularly useful feature. I needed to be in the exact proper location, and I needed to know which of the four corners the sign was on. Trees and other branches frequently obstruct my view, and I had no way of knowing if I was even close to hitting my aim.
I was delighted when OrCam read many of the outside signs as I drove to a neighboring fast food restaurant/gas station/convenience store. Because most signage utilize strange fonts and OrCam doesn’t perform well with illuminated neon, I don’t think it will be able to discriminate between different stores in a strip mall.
I could pick up snatches of the menu board above the order counter. Because I couldn’t read everything, I had to rely on a printed menu.
By chance, the previous occupant of the table I chose had left a newspaper, so I attempted reading a few items in between bits of burger. OrCam did a fantastic job at colomnizing and just reading one column at a time. For the next column, I had to restart the text recognition process. I also wanted a sense of where everything was on the page. When you point at a graphic or a photograph, OrCam doesn’t recognize it; it just doesn’t recognize these features on a target.
When reading a newspaper with the Trigger button rather than the point gesture, OrCam scans the text from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner of the page. To distinguish between headlines and other articles, OrCam announces “reading next text block.”
Our final stop was inside the convenience shop, where OrCam’s capabilities astounded me. I approached a shelf and placed my finger on an item. It displayed the item’s name and price. It was a dog food bag. I moved on to another blister pack item that I didn’t recognize. OrCam told me it was a tire gauge and told me how much it cost. Last but not least, the refrigerator case, where I opened the door and started touching the beverage bottles. Almost every time, it read what it was and how much it cost. Because supermarkets generally show things with their labels front and center, it was much easier than going through my own cupboard or refrigerator.
OrCam MyEye can recognize currencies, credit cards, household or work things you’ve already identified and placed into OrCam’s memory using voice memos/audio tags, as well as the faces of friends, family, and coworkers, in addition to all of the functionality stated above.
To be recognized, currency must be touched or viewed using the trigger button. The OrCam’s memory has been pre-loaded with the various denominations. Other items will have to be manually added.
OrCam Up to 150 credit cards, grocery products, home cleansers, and other things the size of a pack of playing cards to a box of cereal will be stored and recognized by MyEye. Press and hold the Trigger button until OrCam prompts you to add an item to the device’s memory “Begin learning about a new product. Please point three times at the product in various directions.” It’s ideal to shoot one photo at arm’s length, another closer up, and a third with a different background.
After taking the images, you’ll be asked to give the object an audio name or description. If you want to include the front and back sides of a box, for example, you can capture multiple image sets, but this will count as two items toward your maximum of 150. Note: To erase an item from memory, you must still have it.
Touch the item and then peel away your finger, as if you were recognizing text, to identify that box of teabags or distinguish your sugar canister from your flour canister. Your audio message will be read aloud by OrCam.
Face recognition operates in a similar way to object recognition. It is only necessary to picture and enter a person into OrCam once. For roughly two seconds, press and hold the trigger button. After the beep, the OrCam device will prompt you to name the person in front of you. Then, to finish the facial recognition input process, you confirm the person by pushing the trigger button again.
OrCam MyEye will now play your audio tag anytime that individual comes into view. You should generally avoid names like “My foolish employer” or “The guy who owes me money” because it’s playing over a speaker, even if the level is fairly low.
My trainer’s face had been pre-entered into OrCam MyEye. When he wandered away from the fast food place, I tried to find him. It took a while for him to appear, but once he did, I knew where to look and speak.
“One person is in front of you,” OrCam MyEye abruptly declared, and that was the last feature I discovered on my own. OrCam can detect up to eight faces in front of you, which is useful if you’re waiting in line or at a party and aren’t sure if you’re speaking to a person or a floor lamp.
An OrCam MyEye User Story
Because I only had one OrCam training session, I figured it would be smart to check in with a more experienced user. As a result, I spoke with Dorothy Boyd, 80, of Titusville, Florida. Boyd suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, which limits her vision to four degrees. Her granddaughter is an optometrist who followed the development of OrCam and purchased a gadget for Boyd as soon as one became available.
Boyd utilizes a speech-enabled iPad and Kindle, but she likes to study the screens with her OrCam MyEye. “I don’t have to worry about touching anything I didn’t plan to touch and accidently changing things,” she says.
Boyd also reads her print Bible and daily devotional with her OrCam. Her husband is a Sunday school teacher, and she was blown away when she realized she could follow along with his PowerPoint presentations. “OrCam actually aids with the orientation of my scans,” she explains. “It notifies me there’s more text to the right if my finger isn’t pointing exactly at the PowerPoint display.”
In her object recognition database, Boyd doesn’t have many household objects. She isn’t required to do so. “I can typically tell what I’m looking at merely by hearing snippets of text,” she explains. “It comes in useful when I’m looking for something in the fridgeespecially if you have a partner who never puts the mustard back in its place.”
Boyd employs facial recognition technology. She’s programmed her OrCam with photographs of a lot of neighbors and church acquaintances, her two daughters, four granddaughters and their spouses, and her four great-grandchildren, in addition to her husband. She chuckles as she says, “My hubby can’t sneak up on me anymore.”
Boyd’s 80th birthday was recently celebrated with a spectacular party. “They handed me eight sheets of paper with messages on them like, ‘Today you’re getting your nails done,’ and ‘You’re going shopping with your children.'”
Final Thoughts
OrCam MyReader and OrCam MyEye do exactly what they say they do. The MyReader and MyEye are wonderful solutions to answer the question, “What is this?” for the newly blind or those with physical or cognitive impairments that prevent them from utilizing a touch screen mobile device. The OrCam MyEye may be useful for office workers and people who frequently socialize in groups.
The two different models are the reason for my reservations about the OrCam. When IBM first began selling printers under the Lexmark brand, they provided two laser printer models: a 4-page-per-minute model and an 8-page-per-minute model. Except for the fact that the business had deactivated the greater speed on the low-end model, the printers were identical. IBM no longer sells printers. Except for the preloaded software, OrCam MyReader and MyEye appear to be similar. Although the MyReader can be upgraded to the MyEye, I believe the firm would have done better to set a single price for the full-featured device. I’m also curious how long it will take for someone to build a similar headset that can be wirelessly connected to an Android smartphone.
Product Information
In the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Israel, OrCam is accessible in English, French, German, and Hebrew. OrCam will be available in Spanish soon.
OrCam’s purpose is to use artificial vision technologies to improve the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired.
The wearable OrCam assistive technology equipment promotes independence by reading printed text from any surface effectively, quietly, and instantaneously, recognizing faces, and identifying objects and money notes.
OrCam’s team includes dedicated software, computer, and electrical engineers; hardware design experts; and a passionate customer service teamincluding sighted, low vision, and blind membersto provide a visual aid through a discreet, mobile, and easy-to-use interface, powered by leading minds in the computer vision and machine learning fields.
- Jamie Pauls and Shelly Brisbin share their favorite finds at the ATIA 2016 Conference Exhibit Hall.
- Making Touchscreen Appliances and Other Devices More Blind Friendly with VizLens and HALOS by Bill Holton
- Bill Holton’s A Day in the Life: Technology that Assists a Visually Impaired Person Throughout the Day
Does Va cover OrCam?
Is Your Business Protected? If you have VA health coverage and are legally blind or have low vision, you may be eligible for an OrCam device, which is fully reimbursed by the VA.
Who makes OrCam?
OrCam Technologies Ltd., based in Israel, is the firm behind the OrCam wearable artificial intelligence gadgets. The company creates and manufactures assistive equipment for people who are blind, partially sighted, or have other difficulties, such as print disabilities. OrCam’s headquarters are in Jerusalem, and the company is known as OrCam Technologies Ltd.
OrCam, which is based in Jerusalem and has offices in New York, Toronto, and London, employs approximately 150 people.
Does OrCam MyEye work?
is a unique handheld device that reads any printed or digital text from books, newspapers, smartphone and computer screens, and more. It is simple to use and operates with a single button press. People with modest low vision, reading challenges, such as dyslexia, and reading fatigue may benefit from it. Instantly read the content that you want, such as desserts on a menu, identifying a certain phrase on a page, reading the headlines in a newspaper, and much more, using the groundbreaking Smart Reading feature.
What is OrCam My Me?
OrCam MyMe is a small wearable AI gadget that quickly recognizes colleagues, clients, and business contacts and notifies you when you last saw them and in what context via a free companion app on your phone or smartwatch.
What is the latest version of OrCam?
OrCam has issued a new firmware update for both the OrCam MyEye and OrCam Read devices. Users may now utilize their OrCam devices with a voice assistant and hands-free in version 9.10.
Does OrCam work for macular degeneration?
The OrCam MyEye, for example, can help persons with visual impairment regain and expand their independence by providing them with audio-based visual information (text, faces, items, and colors). Anyone suffering from one of the two types of macular degeneration can benefit greatly from this.